


Under Neverland

by Namoni_Heartflau



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Chara is not a bad person, Horrortale Themes, Inspired by A Promised Neverland, No Flowey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:28:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23448529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Namoni_Heartflau/pseuds/Namoni_Heartflau
Summary: Frisk has lived their whole life in their underground home named “Human City”. They never knew their parents; As soon as they were born, their parents left to go to the surface to live with other humans up there. Frisk was sent to live with Mom and their six other siblings. This isn’t unnatural though, every child does this, and Frisk wouldn’t have it any other way! They love their siblings and mom and their home and the other families that live in this city. They especially love Gerson, the kind old turtle that checks in every once in a while. So why does this ghost kid say that they're being lied to?
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my third WiP but I couldn't just NOT write it. I just caught up with the A Promised Neverland manga and thought it would make a great AU. Don't worry though, this is going to be different enough that there is no risk of spoilers. I mostly just adopted the concept because it was so good! (I highly suggest checking the manga out, or the Anime if you want)

I wake up with the slow brightening of the lights. A happy groan escapes me when my cramped muscles get a little relief from a long stretch. A gentle hand pats my shoulder, deserving a look up at the owner.

“It’s time to wake up, sleepyhead.” Aaron smiles down at me and I can’t help but smile back.

“Five more minutes?” Is my quiet plea.

“You’ve already slept in longer than usual, come on everyone.” Tim calls from the front of the room, his announcement is followed by the groans of our fellow siblings struggling to escape the hold of sleep. 

Penelope and Molly roll out of their beds first and hurriedly make their way to the bathroom to get first dibs. 

“Well I stayed up later than usual last night, so I should get to sleep in longer, right?” James’ voice drifts up from under his blankets. Said blankets are gently pulled back by Aaron.

“If you didn’t stay up so late, you wouldn’t be so tired.” James glares at Aaron and grumbles in response, stubbornly refusing to move.

“What were you even doing up so late?” Tim asks as he and Aaron start pulling on James’ legs and arms to untangle his limbs from each other. 

“I was making a surprise for-” He suddenly lifts his head and looks around, spotting Sandra as she slips out of the room, “. . . For Sandra.” 

“OH YEAH!!” I suddenly shoot up from my pillow and stare at the three, “Today is Sandra’s birthday, right??” Tim and Aaron make ‘oh’ shapes with their mouth, James grins.

“It sure is!” He stands, causing the other two to stumble. The four of us quickly get dressed after that and follow James as he quickly leads us to the dining room. There, I can see just how much work was put into this surprise. Each seat has a crown of leaves on the chair for each child to wear, except for Sandra’s usual spot; that spot has a crown of golden flowers.

“Good morning, you four.” Mom comes into the dining room with a breakfast platter full of the most delicious smelling food! We echo back her greeting and help her finish setting up. Soon enough, the room is filled with delighted cries as the other kids file in to see the surprise! They all take time to gawk at Sandra’s special crown and wish her a happy birthday before settling down to eat. 

I take a moment to look around at our little family. Mom sits at the front, smiling gently at the eager children. Tim is the oldest, which is good because he is the most patient out of all of us, although Aaron sometimes acts like the oldest since he’s the kindest and he’s not much younger than Tim. Then you have me, I just really love my family! Mom sometimes says my face is permanently set in a determined line. Next we have James, definitely the most energetic of the seven of us. There he goes now, shoveling eggs in his mouth as fast as he can in a race against Penelope, who is trying so hard not to be outdone. James is good for his sense of justice though, he always makes sure everyone gets even turns and is the self-proclaimed protector of the house.

Sandra is the next oldest after him, her sense of right and wrong make her and James a perfect duo, you hardly ever see those two apart from each other. She is followed in age by the twins, Molly and Penelope. Those two though hardly spend any time together it seems. Don’t get them wrong, they love each other unconditionally, but their personalities are so different! Penelope is always rushing head first into any adventure she can find while Molly prefers to sit in a nook with a good book.

We’re such a great family. We never knew our real parents, they all left to go live on the surface with other humans as soon as we were born. The surface is too dangerous for kids, so we’re born down here and then the adults move up to see things like grass, cows, and the sun. Mom takes care of us though! She’s one of the grown-ups who agreed to stay behind and take care of the kids and we love her very much.

There are lots of families like ours; All with kids of different ages. And we love it down here in the Underground! Sure it’s dark and the only bit of sunlight we get is from the hole at the back of the caves, but Gerson helps keep us entertained.

Gerson is great fun! He’s an old turtle who’s lived so long that he got so big and learned how to talk! He teaches us things like how to grow a garden, how to draw, and how to play games like hide and seek in the caves! He also likes to tell stories of scary monsters who eat little kids if we try to go outside “Human City” but I don’t think they’re real. 

Speaking of the guy, there he is coming through the front door!

“Gerson!!!” I shout happily and wave at him. Molly gets up and bounds into his arms, her glasses coming a little askew.

“Wa ha ha!” He laughs in his funny little way and fondly adjusts Molly’s glasses for her, “I heard that it was someone’s birthday today, and it looks like there’s a party going on, but I can’t seem to remember whose it is…” He trails off and taps his chin thoughtfully, we giggle.

“It’s a puzzle Mr. Gerson!” James bellows with a grin that splits his face in half.

“A puzzle, eh? Wha ha ha, let me see if these old eyes of mine can figure it out then.” Molly whispers in his ears to give him a hint, “Hmmm, you’re all wearing crowns, but one of them is different.”

“Hey, Molly, no telling!” Sandra scolds. 

“Yeah, that’s cheating!” James chimes in as I figured he would. 

After a few more seconds Gerson snaps, “I’ve got it figured out. Sandra is wearing the flower crown, so it is Penelope’s birthday!” He laughs heartily at the chorus of exasperated groans of the children, “I’m just yankin’ your legs! Happy birthday, Sandra.” 

“Thank you, Gerson.” Sandra beams happily and we begin to clean up. 

“Clair, if I could speak to you for a moment.” Gerson sets Molly down and gestures to the front door. 

“Of course. Frisk, will you please do the dishes this morning?” Mom looks at me.

“Yep!” I raise my arms to show her my muscles and she and Gerson laugh as they head outside. The other kids scatter to do whatever they want to do for the morning and I head to the kitchen to clean up. It’s kind of smelly in here though, so I open the window to help it air out.

“What did you want to talk about, Gerson?” Mom’s voice carries through the open window and I slow my washing curiously. Not that I want to eavesdrop!

“I have orders to ship these kids out by tomorrow, I wanted you to know so you can get them ready-” Gerson is interrupted by mom speaking again.

“Tomorrow?! But... they’re still children! And that’s not even enough time to get ready!”

“Shh, I know. I told him that they’re not ready, but the end of the week marks the anniversary of the barrier going up and he wants something special for it.”

“There are plenty of other-”

“He said he wants it to be children this time. In honor of the first.”

It’s quiet for a long time, I hold my breath.

“He wants the seven different kinds, I tried to talk him out of it, but you know how he gets.” Gerson finally breaks the stillness.

“No, I don’t.” Mom sounds angry, “These are my first, Tim isn’t even sixteen yet, Frisk is twelve! Can I not keep them a little bit longer?”

“I’m sorry, Clair. You’ll be given some more children from the other houses, you won’t be sent out until the agreed time.” 

“It’s not fair, I was going to suggest Frisk even become a mom when she was old enough.”

“Clair... I’m really sorry.” Gerson sounds really sad, I frown.

“I know.” Mom sighs, “I’ll go let them know.” 

“I’ll see you tomorrow night then.” The conversation ends and I can hear their footsteps move on. I quietly close the window and continue dish duty. In just a few moments, I hear mom calling for everyone. I dry my hands and hurry to the living room where we’re gathering. I claim a seat on the couch and Penelope claims a spot on my lap. 

“My children,” Mom starts with a smile, but it looks sad now, “I have some exciting news for you. You’re going to the surface tomorrow!” She smiles a little happier at the surprised gasps that pulls from the kids surrounding her.

“The surface??”  
“But isn’t that like, super dangerous?”  
“Is it safe now?”  
“Is everyone going?”  
“Why?”

“Children,” Mom laughs at all our questions, “Yes, you’re going to the surface. They want to see if it’s really going to be as dangerous for kids as they thought it was. No one else is going, you were the lucky pick!” Excited chatter picks up as everyone talks about what they’re going to do once they’re outside.

“Are you coming with us, Mom?” I pipe up over the chaos. Mom looks me in the eye and I could have sworn she almost cried.

“No, sweetheart, I’m going to stay here and keep raising other children.” A beat of silence goes through the group before the younger kids dash to her side to tearfully beg her to come with us. 

As she spreads her love and comfort to everyone I think about what I overheard. If she said she was going to suggest me as a Mom when I grew up, that means I can do my best to be kind of like a mom to everyone when we get to the surface. I’ll make sure I keep everyone together and we stay safe, and one day I’ll bring everyone back to visit mom. Looking forward to the future fills me with determination.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just had to get these first two chapters out as soon as I could since it helps set the tone for the rest of the story. Let me know what you think in the comments

I don’t know about anyone else, but I couldn’t sleep that night. Every time I tried to close my eyes, I just got so excited! I can’t believe we’re really going to the surface! Human City is a nice place, but it can get kind of small. I already explored everything I could a long time ago, the only place I haven’t gone is beyond the large doors that lead to the outside. I’m finally going to go through it tomorrow! 

Morning doesn’t come fast enough, but when it finally does Tim and Aaron don’t even need to wake anyone up. Everyone slides out of bed at the first sign of the lights coming on and excited murmuring accompanies our routines. Mom’s the only one who doesn’t look excited today, but I think she’s just going to miss us a lot. She’s the first one I hug when I see her.

“I’ll come back, mom.” 

“What was that, Frisk?” She puts a hand on my head and I look up at her.

“I said I’ll come back. I’ll go make sure everyone gets to the surface safely, and then I’ll come back and let you know.” 

She smiles at me then, it’s a sad kind of happy, and then she kneels down and gathers me into the tightest hug she’s ever given me.

“I don’t doubt it, my little bundle of determination. You tend to do whatever you want.” She pets my head and I hug her back as hard as I can, “Now, go make sure you have everything you need.”

“Okay, I’m going to go on one last walk around before, so I’ll meet you there.” 

“Alright, make sure you’re not too late, ok?” 

“Yep!” I grin and hurry to put on my shoes. My siblings all wander around the house, making sure they’re bringing everything they need, or going out to say goodbye to their friends. I head out and speak to a couple of my friends, promising to come back later just like with mom, and then I head to my favorite spot. 

It’s deep in the back of the caves, a little cavern nestles back there with the only window to the outside world. A hole high in the roof offers a small glimpse of natural light and if I listen closely, I can sometimes hear birds singing. It’s really nice here, there’s a bed of flowers that grow from the seeds that sometimes fall in and I like to lay on it and imagine I’m really outside. Gerson told me that sometimes other humans fall in, but they’re usually scary and dangerous ones, so he comes to check every day to keep us safe. I’ve never seen one, but I’m always careful when I come back here. 

There are two tunnels that lead into this cavern: The one I came out of, and one that’s blocked off. I asked Gerson where that one used to lead, and he said it was just the ruins where monsters used to live, that’s why it’s blocked off. 

But that’s all in the past now, I’m about to escape these cold caves and see the surface for real! I lay down on the flowers and stare up at the bit of sky. I wonder what it looks like up close? Can you touch it? Where does light come from? Will there be giant crystals up there lighting everything? What are people like? I imagine a lot of adults just farming and laughing and living up where nothing can stop them from looking at the sky and nothing smells like rocks and water. Nothing will echo because there will be nothing for your voice to bounce off of, so you can be as loud as you want. What will we live in? Will there be houses like the ones down here? What could be so dangerous on the surface that might not be dangerous anymore? 

I open my eyes tiredly, I must have fallen asleep, I stayed up pretty late last night. Stretching does no good to my sore muscles so I guess I’ll have to go to the surface feeling tired and stiff. 

. . .Is that someone crying? I sit up and look around, I can hear little sniffles like someone is trying to be quiet while crying but it’s not working. Maybe it’s one of our friends who’s really sad about us leaving?

“Hello?” I call out, “Who’s crying?” The crying stops.

. . .

“Hello?” I strain to hear the quiet response.

“Yes, hello! Where are you?” I look around because they must be close if I heard them when they were whispering. I don’t see anyone though, “Are you still here?” 

Nothing, they must have gotten embarrassed and left. I shrug and stand up to brush my pants off. When I turn to leave the cave, a kid in a green sweater is in front of me all of a sudden, it startles me so bad that I fall back down with a scream.

“Oh my stars, you CAN see me??” The kid stares at me in bewilderment.

“You scared me!” I pout up at them as they start laughing.

“Sorry, I didn’t think you would see me; You usually don’t.” They grin, it’s kind of creepy.

“What do you mean I usually don’t? Have you been spying on me?” I get back up with a glare, they shrug.

“Nah, I’m just usually invisible.” 

“Like… camouflage?” 

“No, like a ghost. Can’t you tell?” They roll their eyes and that’s when I notice their feet aren’t touching the ground. I can only blink in response. How are you supposed to react when you see a ghost? 

“Hello?”

Aren’t ghosts only in stories?

“Earth to Frisk.” 

How does it know my name? Has it been haunting me?

“Helllooooooo~”

How have I not noticed this whole time that there was a ghost following me? What do they want? What should I do? Should I go get Gerson?

“NO.” Their voice cuts through my thoughts and startles me again, “You can’t tell Gerson. You can’t tell anyone LIKE Gerson.” They sneer in disgust and that confuses me.

“What do you mean? Gerson is the wisest person I know, he would know what to do.” I cross my arms when the kid begins laughing at me. 

“Look kid-”

“I’m older than you.”

“-You have been lied to. I know you think you’re going up to the Surface, but you’re not.”

“And how would you know? You’re just a ghost.” I challenge and am met by their bright red eyes.

“How do you think I died?” They give me a creepy smile and I shiver.

“I don’t know, what does that have to do with anything?” 

“I died because I was hungry, because we didn’t have any food. So then I became the food.” They float onto their back as if they’re lying down to relax, “The monsters ate me and now they’re going to eat you.” 

“No they’re not. Monsters aren’t real, and besides, it’s safe now for kids to be on the surface now so it would be fine even if they were real.”

“Kid, what do you think Gerson is? The old coot is one of the oldest monsters out there, doing his job as a shepherd making sure all you little sheep stay cozy and well-fed so you’ll be fat enough for dinner for the other monsters.”

“Shut up, that’s not true. He’s so nice!” 

“I can prove it, he’s going to take you outside the doors and they’re going to kill you and put your souls in little jars for the king to eat later.” They wiggle their fingers at me scarily, I back away angrily.

“No he’s not, leave me alone!” I reach down and pick up a stick to swipe at them, but it goes right through and they sigh.

“Look, I like you. You remind me of me when I was alive, and I don’t really feel like waiting another few hundred years for someone else to come along and see me. Just let me prove it to you, let me show you evidence. If it’s not good enough for you, you can follow your little friends down to the stomach of the king. But if I’m telling the truth, then you’ll be saved.” 

I give it some thought. Generally, I like to give everyone a chance to prove they’re not lying, but I don’t want to be late and miss Gerson taking everyone to the Surface.

“. . . Will it take long to show me your ‘evidence’?” I finally answer them.

“Nope, it’s actually on the way.” They grin widely and float down the tunnels back towards the city, “Follow me and keep quiet, you don’t want to get caught.” 

I sigh and look up at the hole one more time before following them. The kid leads me around the outside of the city and I can hear mom calling my name, but the kid puts a finger to their mouth and gestures at me to keep following. I feel guilty not answering me when mom is obviously looking so hard for me, but the faster I get this over with the faster I can go to her. 

Eventually I realize that this kid is leading me to the door, I can see everyone standing around Gerson probably waiting for me. The ghost doesn’t take me to them though, they instead lead me to climb down into a little fissure in the rock and hide myself. From here, I can still see what everyone is doing. 

Mom comes over, nervously wringing her hands.

“I can’t find Frisk, I’ve searched everywhere and they’re not answering me.”

“Maybe they fell asleep somewhere and can’t hear you.” Aaron speaks up in my defense, thanks Aaron. 

“We can’t wait any longer than we already have, I’ll go look for them myself after everyone else is already on their way.

“We can’t leave Frisk behind!” James complains, “They were so excited to go with us!” Mom pats his head.

“Don’t worry dear, I’m sure Frisk will come for you as soon as they can.” Her words reassure the kids only a little bit and my soul swells with gratitude that they want to wait for me so badly. I move to get up and go to them, but the ghost kid sits right in front of my face with a look I’m all too familiar with but have never been on the receiving end of. 

“Alright then, let’s go.” Gerson says and turns to open the door. My heart pounds with anticipation as he and the other kids go through, mom stays behind.

“Now is your chance,” the kid whispers in my ear and my heart jumps into my throat, “run through the door while it’s closing. Go now!” I feel like my body is moving without my permission as I dash from my hiding place without thought and race towards the massive closing door, “When you get in, turn immediately to the right and hide behind the rocks there.”

“Frisk!?” I hear mom gasp when I dash past her, but before she can say anything else I slide through the gap before it closes and immediately turn right, scraping my elbow on a rock in the sudden darkness. Somehow, I manage not to cry out in pain, I’m just glad the kid wanted me to come out here too, I’m about to scold them for making me late as a prank but their fingers are held up by my face desperately and they shake their head. I turn around and peek over the rocks at my siblings.

Gerson has led them further in, a small lantern lighting his way, the kids keeping close behind him and holding hands so no one gets lost. They all walk up to another large door and Gerson knocks.

“Is this the door to the surface?” I hear Penelope ask.

“. . . No.” Gerson sighs out just before the door begins to swing open. Instead of warm light spilling through the opening like I always dreamed, a gust of freezing wind blasts in. With it, steps in a massive creature, even bigger than Gerson! If Gerson is as tall as Mom, this thing is probably two feet taller at least. It’s got fur all over its body and it’s completely white except for the metal armor and giant axe that it carries. Right behind it is another one just like it but slightly smaller. 

“Monsters.” I whisper in disbelief.

“Monsters??!” Sandra screams and the children scatter, running back towards the doors to the city. Tim scoops up Penelope and Molly in his arms and I’m one second away from leaping out of the rocks to go help, but before I even have time to stand properly, before I can even blink, Tim has fallen forward onto his face. The girls go sprawling, and a giant axe gleams from its place in his back. 

More screaming, but I don’t think it’s from me. I’m frozen in my half crouch, unable to even breathe as I watch everything happen in slow motion. One by one, my siblings are slaughtered. James when he tries to attack the monsters back, his angry and fearful cry almost drowning out the other’s. Penelope when she jumps in front of Sandra to protect her, Sandra’s grief and horror is cut off moments later. Aaron and Molly try to open the door, Molly is dragged away until her crying stops wetly, and then Aaron spins around to face the two monsters ahead of him. From where I sit, I can see the tears run down his cheeks.

“Why?? Gerson, why??” He chokes out.

“Food doesn’t get to ask questions.” The smaller monster growls and pounces on him. My blood feels cold and thick in my veins as I watch it cleave into my brother and he falls to the floor in front of it. For just a second afterwards, Aaron’s eyes find mine, and just like he always does when I’m scared of something, gives me the biggest smile he can. That smile vanishes the next moment and he stops moving.


	3. Chapter 3

Silence fills the cavern, as if no one dares to interrupt the silent screams still ringing around the rocks. Then, light suddenly blends into the darkness. Blue, purple, orange, yellow, and from Aaron’s body, a little green light floats out and above him. I can’t tell for sure, but it looks vaguely heart shaped, and it’s beautiful. Just as bright as his smile.

I duck further behind my hiding spot when the monsters begin to move. I can’t see what happens to the others, but Aaron’s light gets scooped into a jar and his body is thrown into a bag before carried out of my view. I cover my mouth with my hands so they don’t accidentally hear my breathing.

“Gerson,” One of the other monsters growl out, “This is only six. There was supposed to be seven, where is the Determination soul?”

“They couldn’t be found, the Mom is out there right now looking for them. I will personally make sure it is collected and give it to a sentry to bring to the capital.” Gerson’s muted reply comes from right next to me and I barely keep in a scream.

“Good, the king will not be happy if he does not get all seven for the ceremony.” 

“Wa ha ha, you tell ol’ fluffy buns he’ll get what he deserves.” 

Without more words, I hear the two murderers shuffle out and the door close behind them. Gerson doesn’t move, my blood has started moving again and my heart threatens to burst out of my body when his hand rests on a rock next to my head. 

He just stands there for a long minute, I’m afraid to look up in case we make eye-contact, then he makes his way to the door and opens it. I hear mom call out to him when he goes through and I panic because I remember she saw me come in here.

“Quick!” The ghost kid is suddenly in front of me again and I can’t keep the scream in this time, I had completely forgotten they were there, “He’ll come back in for you. There’s a hole over here that connects to another tunnel. Quickly!” They float over to a wall and I stumble over my feet to follow them, ignoring the splashes my footsteps sometimes make. When I reach the wall, I kneel to follow the kid through a small crevice in the wall I can barely fit through.

“Frisk?” Gerson’s voice freezes me in my tracks, my head throbbing in time with my heartbeat, “Frisky, I know you’re in here. Why don’t you come on out? You must be so scared after seeing all that. Why don’t I explain what’s going on here, you deserve that, right?” 

I feel like fainting, blackness crowds my vision, how could he sound so casual? 

“Frisk, you’re almost there, keep moving.” The ghost kid gently urges and my body obeys mechanically. 

“Frisk, don’t make this harder. They’ll come looking for you. There are a lot more scary monsters out there who won’t care about your feelings. Come on…” His voice fades so much that I can barely hear it any more. 

I finally break free of the crack, but the kid doesn’t let me rest yet. With gentle words, they encourage me to keep walking further into the caves, all I can do is follow, my mind is so blank. The briefest of thoughts flashing in the front of my mind before being dashed away. 

I don’t know how long it is until I’m finally allowed to stop. I sit down and stare at a wall. I can see the ghost trying to talk to me, but I don’t understand them? Where has my hearing gone? I look around as if to find where it’s run off to and my eyes land on my shoes. Were they always a little red on the bottom? And What’s that smell? Kind of like… metal. Hm, what’s red and smells like metal? 

Oh, yeah, blood. 

The next thing I know, my stomach is trying to escape through my mouth as I vomit up everything I’ve ever eaten in my life. I can’t breathe, my nose has filled up with burning acid and sticky mucus. I can’t see, my eyes are screwed shut trying to block out the images that I will never unsee. I can’t hear, so I can’t really tell if the screaming and gagging is me or the memories. I can’t feel anything, I’m sure I’m laying in a pool of filth since my arms stopped supporting me. I can’t live.

I can’t.

How can I live knowing I did NOTHING to try to save them? 

How can I live knowing there are Monsters out there trying to find me and kill me anyway? 

I can’t. 

I don’t want to. 

A red light breaks through the thin membrane that is my eyelids and I am compelled to open them. A dark red, glowing light shines in front of me, cracked and bruised. It’s me! That’s how I feel! I almost smile at it, giving it the same comfort my brother tried to offer., but I can’t. I’m not Aaron, and I don’t deserve his kindness. I’m ready to just let it go.

Before I can close my eyes again though, I see a figure approaching me from down the hallway. It’s large, it’s white, it's furry. No, no, no, I can’t die. I WON’T die to the likes of this monster! Aaron’s smile wasn’t permission to die, it was permission to keep living! I need to be brave, and persevere, so I can get the justice my precious brothers and sisters deserve! I’m determined to live and escape this place for them!

I struggle to stand, not noticing the yellow glow near my hands.

“Chara??” A soft voice cries out in surprise.

I’m too weak. The darkness comes back with a vengeance when I finally get upright and I fall back over. 

~~~~~

Do you know that feeling you sometimes get in the middle of the night? The one when you're lying in your bed and you swear you can hear footsteps making their way to your bed, and when they arrive they just stand there and you know that if you open your eyes you'll see someone staring back at you? But then you open your eyes or you go back to sleep and everything is fine? That’s the feeling I get when I wake up.

Maybe it’s one of my siblings? James sometimes likes to pull pranks, maybe he snuck up on me and is waiting for me to look at him so he can jump on me? Or maybe it’s a ghost? 

Ghost… like that kid? Wait, I’m not at home, there’s no way I could be after... well, now I’m even more scared. I REALLY don’t want to open my eyes! What’s the last thing I remember? I escaped from Gerson, I was crying, there was something coming towards me. Have I been captured? I can’t tell unless I look but I’m too scared. What if they’re just waiting for me to be awake so they can kill me??

Mortification overcomes me when a hiccuped sob escapes me and I hear shuffling next to me. Now I can’t stop the tears that come out. It’s not until I feel a fuzzy hand on my head that my body finally moves, I shove the hand away with a shout and roll off the bed onto the ground.

“It’s okay!” A woman’s voice comes from the other side of the bed. I slide under the bed to hide and shove a fist in my mouth to make myself stop crying. I can see large white-furred feet standing there, a purple dress brushing the ankles. The dress starts to pool on the ground when the thing bends down to look under the bed, “My child, there’s no need to be afraid.” 

“Please stop!!” I scream in desperation, the movement stops. A furry hand rests on the ground to support them.

“Oh I see, I am sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” The monster stands back up straight and retreats over to the door, “I am over here where I cannot get you, will you please come out?”

I’m shaking so bad I’m sure the bed is moving, but I can’t stop. I don’t dare answer her. 

“My name is Toriel, I found you in the Ruins and I brought you to my home to help you. I promise I’m not here to harm you.” Toriel opens the door, “I am going to step out and bring you some food now that you are awake. The only other person here is my friend, and he won’t come in so you do not have to worry. I will be right back.” She leaves and gently shuts the door. 

My shaking has stopped being so violent and I take some time to breathe deeply and calm down. Doing a quick check, I see that my clothes have been changed. Now I’m wearing a purple sweater that’s a little too big on me, but at least it’s soft. 

“Howdy!” I jump so badly at the sudden voice near me that I hit my head on the bed, “Haha! You scaredy cat! It’s just me.” There is that ghost kid I’ve been following, peeking under the bed on my other side.

“You!” I hiss at them, “Don’t do that, there’s monsters here!”

“Psssh, Toriel won’t hurt you. She’s too nice; the worst she’ll do is feed you her gross snail pie.” 

“How do you know? She might just be pretending.” 

“I’ve been a ghost for a long time, trust me. I know who’s dangerous and who’s not. Toriel is not dangerous.” They shrug and beckon me to come out, I shake my head, “Come out, Frisk. I promise I won’t let you die.”

“How can you promise something like that?” I glare at them.

“Come out and I’ll show you.” They shrug and float out of my vision. I’m shaking again, but this time I’m angry. I scramble after them and stand to scold them but they interrupt me before I can say anything, “You’re welcome by the way.”

“What?” I blink in shock.

“For saving your life! If it wasn’t for me, you’d be dead too. With everything going on, you’ll probably forget to thank me, so I’m just letting you know that it was no problem and I’m glad to help. Name’s Chara.” They have the audacity to smile like they’re some kind of hero, sticking their hand out in introduction. Hot tears well up and spill out of my eyes.

“How dare you?” I’m shaking with fury so it’s not even funny to see their confusion, “How dare you! You stand there and talk about saving my life and promising me that I won’t die, but you let THEM die!” I grab a pillow off the bed and try hitting them with it, but it goes right through. 

“Hey, that’s not my fault!”

“You should have done something! Why didn’t you tell me to tell the others to hide??” I continue my efforts to attack them.

“If everyone had hidden, then the monsters would have been suspicious and looked harder to find you!” At least they’re pretending to dodge now, it makes me feel a little better about my helplessness. 

“So you sacrificed them?!” 

“Yes!” The confession makes me pause, “Yes, they had to die so you could survive! Sure, it’s sad, but it’s how life is down here. You know, kill or be killed!” They roll their eyes like I’m some petulant child throwing a fit, “Besides, you have to admit that not all of you could have survived. No one else can see me, you wouldn’t just believe me, and the only way to escape was to go through that crack in the wall and the monsters would have seen you all go through.” 

I can only stare at them. They make some kind of sense, I can see that. But what if there was another way? What if I had just believed them at the beginning? What if I had at least saved one of them? What if it was Tim instead of me? Wouldn’t I want him to survive if he had the opportunity? Would I want Molly to feel bad about escaping? . . . No, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. 

I don’t know when I sat down on the ground. I don’t know when I started wailing. I don’t know how I got in Toriel’s lap. I don’t know when she started rocking or petting my hair, and I don’t know when I started to hug her. I needed it, I know she might eat me after this, but I don’t care! I miss my family and I can almost imagine this is my mom holding me instead of some monster.

I don’t know when I went back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually have a whole Toriel PoV written for this chapter, but it made it too long and I didn't know how to insert it. If anyone wants to read it though, just let me know in the comments and I'll put it up for the next chapter. If not, then it'll just hang out in my googledoc for the rest of forever.


	4. Chapter 4

When I woke up again there was no confusion about my surroundings, no imagining that things are the same as they’ve always been. I just opened my eyes and stared at the white fur in front of me. I’m still being rocked and a paw runs gently up and down my back. It’s comfortable. 

“Are you awake?” Toriel asks quietly. I only nod in response and regretfully find the arms loosening around me. I lean back to look up at her face, she gives me a little smile almost like she’s as nervous as I am, “I am sorry that I scared you.” 

“It’s okay.” I croak out, my throat hurts from all the crying, and I’m thirsty, “Are you going to eat me?” A cold chill goes down my back at the thought.

“Stars, no child. I do not eat humans. I eat snails and vegetables.” 

“Oh.” I don’t know if she’s telling me the truth, but I guess if Chara says I can trust her then I don’t see any other reason to fight. It’s not like I really care anyway, and I’m still mad at that ghost. 

“Are you hungry?” Toriel reaches over and brings a bowl to my lap, it smells really good and I can’t help but drool a little while my stomach growls embarrassingly loud. How long has it even been since I ran away? 

She takes the spoon before I can and helps me eat. It is really good! I eat it as quickly as she allows me too, and then it’s gone sooner than I’d like, I’m still hungry.

“I can go get you more, if you’d like?” I nod and she deposits me off her lap before she leaves the room, closing the door behind her again. 

I take this time to look around the room properly. There’s the bed and a dresser full of sweaters in a disparity of sizes and colors. A few drawings adorn the wall, but they look really old so I don’t dare touch them. Chara is nowhere to be seen so I guess they’ve gone off after my little meltdown. I sigh and rub my chest, it still feels really heavy but I don’t have time to mope around. Do I feel brave enough to check the rest of the house? I stare so intently at the door that I’m startled when it opens again.

“I have brought more soup.” Toriel smiles at me when she comes back.

“Thank you.” I take the bowl and spoon from her and feed myself this time. It’s a little uncomfortable since she quietly watches me the whole time, and when I finish she takes the bowl right back.

“Is there anything else you need?” She asks me.

“I just have a question.” I mumble nervously.

“Of course! What would you like to know?”

“What happens now? Like, what’s going to happen to me?” I shuffle my feet, a little scared about what she’ll say.

“Now?” She sounds surprised like she hasn’t even thought of that, “Well, I was thinking maybe you’d like to stay with us.” I look up at her and see that she’s smiling brightly, “It is very dangerous outside of the ruins so we can keep you safe!” 

“We?” I remember her talking about a friend living here too, but I haven’t seen them yet.

“Yes, me and my friend. He is a very polite person and won’t harm you, and I will take care of you and teach you anything you need to know. I always wanted to be a teacher, can you believe that?” 

Even though she says it all so nicely, I still feel nervous. 

“Why don’t I introduce you to him? If you’re feeling up to it?” I nod in response to her question and she takes my hand. I grip it tightly when she leads me out of the room, suddenly feeling very vulnerable in the new surroundings. A monster could pop out of anywhere and gobble me up unexpectedly! 

It’s a short walk to our destination though. We pass a staircase leading down to the basement and enter a cozy room with a table in the far corner and two comfortable chairs by the fireplace. I almost miss the person sitting in one of the chairs since he’s not very noticeable, but when I do I hide behind Toriel. 

“This is my dear friend W.D. Gaster, he’s a scientist so if you have any questions feel free to ask him as well.” Toriel waves a hand in his direction and he glances up from his book.

“I advise you to abstain from doing so. I do not have the patience for children and their pestering questions.” The skeleton man returns to his book.

“Gaster, that is incredibly rude! This child is going to be staying with us, you should try to get along.” Toriel chides him and he gives an indulgent sigh in response. I realize that Toriel doesn’t seem to know my name.

“Um,” I clear my throat, still not moving out from behind Toriel, “Do you eat people?” It’s a question I have to ask, for peace of mind. He rolls his eyes (eyelights?) and levels a glare at me.

“Do I look like a giant to you? Think back to the monsters you undoubtedly encountered before us, they looked deformed did they not? So much larger than a monster has any business being? That is the result of eating a thing so inedible as human flesh.” The book is set down as the man gets more animated, “I mean honestly, nowhere in history have monsters ever eaten a human being because they simply aren’t a food group! Why anyone thought it was a good idea is beyond me, we were all hungry yet I am not a beast!” 

Toriel just smiles and sits on the other chair, pulling me to sit in her lap.

“He means to say that no, he does not eat humans.” She supplies.

“That is what I said.” He sniffs and picks his book back up.

“Why?” I spit out curiously.

“Because you asked. This is why I cannot abide-”

“No, why don’t you two eat humans?” I interrupt him much to his obvious annoyance. 

“It is like he said, dear. Monsters do not need to eat humans to survive. It is a disgusting habit they formed when everyone in the Underground was starving many years ago. It is not something I like to remember.” Toriel pets my hair thoughtfully, “Gaster and I ran away from the others to avoid getting attacked by people who probably felt guilty about their new lifestyles. We hide here in the Ruins that are impossible to get into.”

“Is there a way to get out?” I feel Toriel’s grip on me become a little tighter when I ask.

“There… is, but I do not suggest you try. If you go out there, you will be ripped into pieces.” 

“But what about the surface? Is that even a real place?” I look away from the fire that I had been gazing and notice that Gaster is staring at me, I shrink further into Toriel’s lap to hide.

“No.” She says sharply and it hurts my heart to hear. I had hoped that maybe I could still go to the surface and build little graves up there for my family. Maybe I could find someone up there to help, Gerson said that sometimes other humans fall down through the hole, so maybe I can make some rope and everyone I left can climb out? 

“But then where do the other humans come from? What is the light I saw through the hole? What about the flower seeds that sometimes fall down? Or the leaves that blow in?” Gaster opens his mouth to answer me, but Toriel silences him with a glare.

“My child, it is best not to think about it. You cannot get there, it is best to just stay here with us. I will make sure you grow up safely and happily. Doesn’t that sound nice?” She stands up before I can answer her and she props me on her hip, “I think you should go to sleep. It is late and you were sick earlier.”

“I don’t feel very tired. Can’t you tell me more about monsters?” 

“No, I think that is enough about monsters for right now.” Her large steps bring us to my room quickly and she lays me in bed as soon as we enter. I just quietly let her do as she wants, she’s so much bigger than me that there’s nothing I can do to rebel anyways. I am shocked when she leans down and kisses my head though, “Is there anything you need before you go to sleep?”

“No, mom.” My automatic response slips out and I’m horrified. Toriel on the other hand smiles happily.

“Would you like that? To call me ‘mom’?” She looks so happy that I feel bad telling her it was an accident so I nod my head and she pats it, “Alright then, call me whatever you’d like. Goodnight my child.” She spares one last look at me before she closes the door. 

I lay in bed for a long time. The light crystals slowly start dimming so I guess she was right about it being late, but I’m really just not tired. How can I sleep when so much has happened? How can anyone sleep? 

The lights had completely gone out by the time my eyelids finally started drooping, before they closed for good though, I heard the door open. It wasn’t a very squeaky door, it was more like I heard the air rushing through when a crack suddenly appeared. Or maybe I heard the turn of the doorknob. All I know is that I am wide awake all over again. Maybe Toriel came to check on me? Nope! That is not Toriel’s face looking down at me!

A boney hand covers my mouth before I can scream.

“Shh, you want to know how to get to the Surface, right?” He whispers after a moment. I nod, scared but curious, “Toriel is… not well. Delusional at best, she thinks you are her actual child come back to life and she will not want you to leave. I, on the other hand, want you to break the barrier.”

I try to speak to ask what the barrier is and why I have to break it, but he puts a digit to his mouth and looks at the door.

“She will hear your voice, you must stay quiet. If you go to the throne of the king, and take his soul, you can get out. Get seven other human souls, and use them to break the barrier once and for all.”

Why? I try to ask. 

“I want to see the stars. Monsters are not bad, we are made up of love, hope and compassion, all that nonsense. If we can just get outside…” He trails off thoughtfully and I pull his hand off my mouth.

“No. Maybe you won’t eat everyone, but the other monsters will eat all the humans.” I whisper angrily at him.

“Then consider this: breaking the barrier is the only way you can get all your human friends out as well.”

“But what about-” 

“Pulling them up through the hole? Won’t work. Don’t you think someone tried that already? We have monsters that can fly. The barrier is a one way road and the only way to get out is with one boss soul or seven human souls. It’s up to you.” He finally pulls away.

“I can’t… I can’t take someone’s soul!” I sit up to look at him as he leaves.

“You can if you’re determined enough.” Gaster grins at me in the dark and his eyes glow slightly brighter, “Where is your sense of justice? Does anyone deserve to be stuck down here? Monster or human, none of us want to be down here.”

“You monsters deserve it.” I scowl. He looks at me thoughtfully.

“When you want to leave, there is a door down in the basement that leads to the rest of the underground. When you get out there, tell Sans that I’m still going to show him the stars. He won’t kill you then.” 

The next time I blink, he’s gone. Not very comforting words. How am I supposed to know who Sans is? Isn’t there some other way to get all the other humans out without letting the monsters go?


End file.
